★ History and art · Opole and aroundKamień ŚląskiA Baroque castle in the village where St Hyacinth was born, the Dominican who brought the order to Poland; today it is a retreat centre and spa.
The storyHyacinth Odrowąż was born here at the end of the 12th century and was one of St Dominic's first companions in Rome; back in Poland he founded the friaries of Kraków and Gdańsk and travelled as far as Kyiv. The castle, rebuilt in Baroque style, belonged to his descendants. It was abandoned after the war, and in the 1990s the diocese of Opole restored it, with the chapel where the saint was born, a spa treatment centre and a garden.
Full page, why go and what's nearby →★ Town · Nysa and the bishops' landPaczkówA small town with almost intact medieval walls, nineteen towers and three gates: it is known as the Polish Carcassonne.
The storyPaczków's walls were built in the 14th century by the Bishop of Wrocław, and they have survived with their towers, gates and wall walk, something very rare in Poland, where almost every town lost its fortifications. Inside the circuit are the fortified church of St John, with a well inside for sieges, and a gas industry museum. The town is quiet and almost free of tourists.
Full page, why go and what's nearby →★ History and art · The southern hillsGłogówekA little town with an Oppersdorff castle where Beethoven composed part of his Fourth Symphony, and a copy of the Holy House of Loreto.
The storyIn 1806 Ludwig van Beethoven was the guest of Count Franz von Oppersdorff, who kept a private orchestra at Głogówek Castle. The count commissioned a symphony from the composer, and the Fourth, dedicated to him, was completed that year. The town's Franciscan church contains a 17th-century replica of the Holy House of Loreto, with frescoes. The castle has recently been restored and in September hosts a music festival dedicated to Beethoven.
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